Yes - Me - I feel stuck and unispired. UGH. I hate that feeling - and worse - I hate pressuring myself to NOT feel that way. You know what they say, what we resist persists…

This week, in my e-zine, I wrote about needing help and being vulnerable.  I talked about how we all need help sometimes, and that as healers and business owners, it’s ok to need that help, it’s ok to be vulnerable, and it’s ok to reach out for support. So in the interest of being vulnerable and authentic, here I am - being authentic and telling you that I just feel stuck this week.

I was sitting at my desk yesterday wondering what I was going to blog about. And I kept thinking, and thinking, and I looked at my inspiration file, and I visited some networking groups to see what others were talking about… I thought about my Effective Newsletter class… but inspiration continued to elude me. So I shelved the project for a little while, thinking that stepping away from it might help.

Well now, here we are today, and I’m banging my head against the desk wondering what the heck to write about. And then - as if ironically - inspiration struck!

My friend (and coach) Mark Silver wrote a great e-zine article this week about trying to accomplish marketing tasks while in a bad mood. In that article, Mark offers a simple Sufi teaching: Always be in authentic service. Always.

Today, my translation of that teaching is - talk to everyone about the fact that you feel stuck and uninspired!

The truth is, I love to write. I love to talk, I love to help people, and network, and share. But there are times - like this week - where no matter how good things are going, I just feel stuck when it comes to writing or sharing or speaking.

When feelings like this crop up - and I have the sense to slow down and listen to them instead of rebelling against them - I notice that there is a message for me here.

Instead of continuing to resist this feeling, I sank into it and asked what my heart is really needing.

Ya know what I need? A break!! I haven’t had a true, honest to goodness day completely off of work (aside from weekends  that have been UBER busy) yet this summer. Wow.

So guess what?? My daughter doesn’t have summer camp tomorrow, I’m getting a brand new bike (yay!) so I think I’m going to take the day - no - the weekend OFF.

If you find yourself coming up against a rocky emotion, take some time to sink into it and ask what it’s trying to teach you. Our emotions are always great pointers to tell us if we’re moving toward or away from what we really want. So if you’ve got a strong one, listen.

I was teaching my live Effective Newsletter workshop yesterday, and a participant brought up a really interesting point. We were talking about how she is publishing a set of CD’s and she said that she found a wonderful publishing company to work with. She was grateful for their help because she wouldn’t have known even where to begin with a project like that.

Her expertise was in creative piece - recording the CD’s. She had no idea how to get them published or on Amazon.com. She said “I’m a master at what I do, I don’t need to be an expert at publishing - I let someone else be the expert in that, and I gratefully pay them for their service.”

How many times in your business do you try to master something that you’re really not an expert in? I know so many practitioners who dive into things that are outside of their area of expertise.

What ends up happening is a lot of frustration. It’s not easy to learn the ins and outs of something and try to expertly apply it to your business. Like web design. I know so many people who try to tackle web design. They end up mad, frustrated, and worst of all - with a web site they aren’t even close to being happy with.

The biggest reason we try to tackle these things is money. We plead that we don’t have the money to hire someone to do these things for us.

If you explore your options, you can find ways to outsource tasks that aren’t going to be expensive. And, if you really look at your budget, where is your money going?

It’s worth it to get the help you need. It saves you time, it gives your business an edge, and it allows someone else to be the expert, and allows you to do the work you were really meant to do.

I was recently at a networking event. It was awesome – lots of healers and alternative therapists all gathered together, making connections, sharing, relating… There was good food, refreshments, and wonderful music. It felt good to be in the midst of all those like-minds. 

I got into a conversation with a really great massage therapist. And she asked me a really interesting question: “so, how do you teach this marketing stuff? I mean, I’m a healer – I’m not a business owner and I certainly don’t want any parts of all that business-related stuff!” 

Oh I totally relate to that! Before becoming a coach, I had a healing business. I was a Reiki practitioner and an aromatherapist – a big part of my business was creating hand-made toiletry products. 

I remember that time in my life. I was happy being a healer. I definitely didn’t want people – especially my clients – to think of me as a “business owner.” And I hated all aspects of the administrative part of running a business – including marketing. 

The problem was, because I was ignoring all of that, my practice really struggled. 

The biggest reason my practice struggled is because I ignored, and even ran from the marketing piece. 

I refused to become a “sales person.” And I refused to be aggressive and manipulative. 

I didn’t want to be obnoxious, and I didn’t want people to get irritated with me. So I barely did any marketing. 

I did little things here and there. I would post fliers, put my business cards around town, attend holistic fairs, and tell people about my practice if they seemed really interested. 

The problem was, with only doing all those passive things, no one could find me. Yeah, I was getting myself out there, but I wasn’t really connecting with people. 

=======================
Marketing is actually nurturing if done correctly.
======================= 

The truth is, in order for you to really serve the people that need you, you have to spread the word about your practice.

It is very rare that people just stumble upon your information, or “just happen” to see you when the time is right. 

And people DO need you. They just need help finding you. 

The way they find you, is through marketing. Marketing is the vehicle that helps people connect to you, feel safe with you and develop a relationship with you. 

It is the vehicle that helps people understand exactly what you can do to help them heal. 

Marketing has been and continues to be used and abused, that’s for sure. 

And I know you don’t want to subject yourself, your practice, or your clients to that. 

=======================
Striking a balance between being a healer, and a business owner.
======================= 

As a healer who wants to serve people, it is very necessary that you do things in your practice to help support its infrastructure, and that help your practice grow. 

Without conducting these activities, your practice is not going to get to the point where it’s serving everyone you want to serve. And it’s not going to get to the point where it supports you as much as you support it. 

One of the big keys to the growth of your practice is marketing. 

So how do you market your practice without becoming a shady snake oil sales person? 

1. Connection. You must be able to find and connect with the people that you want to serve – the people you feel deeply about healing. 

And you must be able to clearly articulate what you do for them. And that’s not just telling them about your healing modality. It’s being able to clearly tell them – in their own words how you can help them. 

2. Building Relationships. This happens over time. Not eons, but it definitely takes some time. 

People rarely purchase from you, or sign up for a session the first time they meet you. And there are a variety of reasons for that. 

If you have a way to build a relationship with them, it continues and strengthens the connection they feel with you, and helps facilitate a client relationship. 

3. Strategy. In order for you to keep growing your practice, you must have a strategy that continually and consistently gets you out in front of new groups of people. 

You have to expand your reach to find the people out there that need the healing you are offering. 

I know this all might sound overwhelming and like it takes a lot of time and a lot of work. I’m going to be honest – it does take work on your part, and you may need someone to show you what to do, and help guide you through developing a marketing strategy. 

During the Mindful Marketing Group Coaching program, we are going to implement these three points, plus so much more. 

I will show you that marketing can and should nurture your potential clients and clients. I’ll guide you step-by-step through developing a solid, supportive marketing strategy that helps your practice grow. 

This program will take the guess-work and anxiety out of marketing.  For more information on the group coaching program - click here.

I had the absolute pleasure of being interviewed by Lonna Bartley on her Blog Talk Radio Show, Humanity 101. We had a great time, and we talked about the unique challenges that healers face when promoting their practice. Check it out here.

Not only can you join Lonna and I virtually for the fun we had, but you’ll get the scoop on my Group Coaching program that I’ll be announcing officially tomorrow. You’ll also hear marketing tips, and you’ll discover how to start getting yourself out there - even if you’re afraid to talk about your business.

And, you’ll hear about Lonna’s fascinating journey - and my favorite quotes from her during the show:

“I truly believe that if you have a longing and a passion in your heart, it’s been put there for a reason. Because there is your gift, it’s your talent, it’s your mission here to do this sacred work. Whatever your work is, it’s sacred for you, it’s sacred or the planet, and there is someone out there that needs you.”

“It’s an act of self protection if we don’t step out and claim our power and to heal those things that seperate us from being able to stand fully in the presence of our I AM self.”

“I’m willing to heal so that I can show up so that I can be he beauty and the light and help others.”

Lonna also talks about opening up to Universe and being willing to say Yes to whatever is brought to her.

Like I said - we had a great time - come join us!

Susan does - as she shared with me in a recent e-mail. Susan said that her three biggest fears regarding developing a newsletter are:

She won’t have enough to say.

She won’t keep it up regularly.

She’ll annoy people.

Susan is attending the Effective Newsletter Teleclinic that will happen on Tuesday July 8. We’re going to cover these topics in-depth during that class. But, let’s explore them a little bit here, shall we?

1.  Finding enough to write about. Your inspiration for newsletter topics is going to come directly from your experience with your clients. Article fodder abounds when you think about recent conversations you’ve had with clients, recent conversations you’ve had with people that are related to your business, industry news, etc…

There are 1,000’s of topics. If you keep a documented list of topics, or some sort of inspiration file, it will help you when it comes time to write an article.

2. Keeping a regular schedule. With the busy-ness that we each face during the day, it’s definitely concerning to think about sticking with something on a regular basis.

It’s important to choose a newsletter schedule that is exactly right for you and fits into your schedule. Once you start a newsletter - it must be consistent. Not only will people forget who you are if you stop sending your newsletter, but people will really come to rely on the information you provide.

3. The risk of annoying people. This is what opt-in is all about. You must get permission from people before you add them to your newsletter list. And, you must make it easy for them to unsubscribe. Being added to a newsletter list without consent is a sure-fire way to make someone mad (I’ve been added to lists without being asked before and it’s not something I’m ever happy about… and if you’ve been added to a list without being asked you know what I’m talking about…).

But, if you have some way for people to grant you permission (like the handy form that’s here), and you make it clear and easy for them to unsubscribe - you’re golden. Yeah, some people will still be irritated (and we’ll talk about why that is and what to do about it in the class), but those numbers are teeny tiny and you don’t really need to worry about those folks.

Creating a newsletter can surely stir up a lot of anxiety - and a lot of questions. It’s one of the best things you can do to generate steady client and income flow in your business - and it’s not as hard as it looks - even though it can seem pretty overwhelming.

I am so stealing this idea from Lynn Terry’s post… I loved the question and thought it would be great discussion for those of us in the healing arts world.

If you could rub a lamp and ask for 3 wishes from the business building genie - what would your wishes be?

I know - shocking isn’t it?!? LOL!! But yes, it’s true - I’ve made mistakes during my journey through business-ownership. Since I’ve been talking quite a bit about newsletters for the last few weeks, I’d like to share some mistakes I’ve made with mine, what I learned, and how they impacted my practice.

1. Tried to manage my subscriber list in my e-mail program. This one was frustrating. When I first started my newsletter in 1999, I figured I would just manage it through Outlook.  I highly recommend NOT doing this. After you reach about 20 subscribers (which takes about no time to do…), it gets really cumbersome.

In your e-mail program you have to create a “group” to manage all of the addresses. Then you have to manually add people to the group. Then, if you’re sending a bonus to people for signing up, you have to manually send that. Now, on the surface, all of that doesn’t look that hard. But if you have several people sign up in a day, plus you’re trying to do everything else in your business - this can add a lot to your plate. And what if you forget to add someone, or add someone accidentally… don’t ask me how many times my e-zine went to my entire address book… boy were some people confused!

Use an e-mail list management service… so much easier!

2. Have an irregular schedule. Not a good idea. Consistency is your friend when it comes to producing a newsletter. People come to rely on you - they want to hear from you and they want to hear what you have to say… after all - they know you can help them!

If you go too long between issues, people will forget who you are and why they subscribed and they will quickly unsub. I learned that the hard way - after someone accused  me of spamming her because she forgot she actually did subscribe.

3. Not offering your products and services. People want to know how you are in service. Yes - providing value is a BIG key to having an effective newsletter. But - people can’t guess what you’re offering. Tell them.

For a long time, I went the route of not offering my products and services in my newsletter. People loved getting it, and they liked what I was saying - but they wanted to know more about how we could work together - they needed help in the form of products and services. Once I started offering my products and services, people began to take me up on those offers.

4. Copying someone else. Oy. I hate to even write that - I’m not proud of the fact that I put myself aside for a bit and tried on someone else. But I did. I went on this odd journey of comparing myself to another successful aromatherapist (back when I had the healing business…), and I copied her style in my newsletter. I figured she must know what to do to be really successful - so I would follow suit.

First off, I felt empty writing it. I started not enjoying it. Secondly - people noticed. It may have been subtle, but they definitely felt the “emptiness” and started unsubbing.

5. Only offering sales announcements. Now I’m not saying I NEVER send a message that isn’t strictly promotional. I do that very occasionally.  However, there was a time in my healing business when I was only offering specials, promotions, and sales. Not only were people unsubscribing - they stopped even opening my newsletter. YIKES.

Through my newsletter, I’ve learned the exact right things to do to get my message of service out in the world, and I’ve learned what absolutely NOT to do! I’ve been producing a newsletter since 1999 - and not only has it helped me grow my businesses - but it’s been a fabulous way to help me get to know my subscribers, and build a community.

During the July Teleclinic, I’ll be teaching participants step-by-step how to create an effective newsletter. It’s happening July 8 at 1:00 EST. Check out all the details here.

My friend Gina just gave the best explanation I have ever read about why we need a niche. I absolutely love what she says in her recent personal blog post.

Gina starts out by talking about this idea that we, as healers, all relate to. Can’t we help absolutely anyone with our service? And isn’t the point of our existence to be limitless and to “flow organically and cyclically like nature?” Aren’t we all one?

Well yeah. But we’re also physical. And I love what Gina says about this aspect of our lives. Especially “Only through being very clear about what one says yes to can any momentum and power be generated toward moving us along our individual paths. Without the focus, the boundaries, the limitations, the energy is just dispersed and rendered ineffectual.”

Yes yes yes!!! Exactly! And this is why choosing a niche and focusing your business - or any of your efforts - is so important.

In this vast Universe that we live in - and for all the One-ness that we all are… we’re still human. We all have human, physical limits.

So if you want to be heard, you must focus your efforts - as much as that may feel wrong or uncomfortable. It is exactly right.

Gina, thank you for offering this very powerful post!

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Marcia Francois last week. Marcia and I determined that the world is definitely coming closer together. I live in PA, and Marcia is half-way ’round the world in South Africa - amazing that this internet thing brought us together and is allowing us to share such great information!

As a business owner, do you find that you have loads of ideas? We are creative beings and we can’t help but be sparked by endless ideas. But how do you reign that in, focus, and actually get anything accomplished? Marcia tells us how! Listen to the recording above - feel free to download it and take it with you

ooo - and you’ll hear Marcia talk about her Virtual Organizing Seminar. Check that out here. It’s this fantastic seminar she is putting together. It’s all done via teleconference. The best part is - it’s hands-on! You’ll come away from the seminar with a completely organized office - how cool!

The short answer is - Yes.

But, isn’t a newsletter just one more thing to add to the to-do list? I’ve had more than one client tell me that they just don’t have time to deal with a newsletter. Not to mention the fact that they hate writing and don’t think they’re good at it. 

When you’re a busy practitioner, it’s easy to let things like that go.

The truth is, a newsletter is an essential tool in your business. Newsletters aren’t just fluff. And they shouldn’t just be another way to promote your services and products.

Newsletters are a vehicle that you can use to build relationships with your clients and potential clients.

And building relationships is the key to sales that happen organically – without push.

The key to a really great newsletter is, it has to have a holistic approach.

There are three essential ingredients that make a newsletter effective. 

1. Value. A truly effective newsletter doesn’t just sell. Provide value that your potential clients want in the form of information, recipes, tips – anything they would find helpful. 

2. Connection. When creating your newsletter, be yourself. Include information about what you do outside the office, write in a conversational tone, and express your opinions. 

3. Offers. The people that sign up for your newsletter already understand that you can help them, and they want and need your help. It’s important that you share your products and services so that those that need you can hire you. 

It’s all about balance – as with everything. When creating your newsletter, feel free to use mine as a starting point. 

You can see how I divide out the sections so that information is easily found, and easily read. 

Maintaining a newsletter isn’t as hard as it looks. And if you already have one, strike that balance for ultimate effectiveness.

If this still seems overwhelming to you, but you have a hunch a newsletter can really help your business, join us for the Create An Effective Newsletter Teleclinic happening July 8. For details, click here.